China has decided to provide Myanmar with COVID-19 vaccines and is
providing epidemic control supplies to help it fight the virus as State
Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up his two-day visit to
the Southeast Asian country on Tuesday. Beijing is also willing to discuss further vaccine cooperation with the country, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. On Tuesday afternoon, epidemic control supplies were handed over to
Myanmar at a ceremony held by the country's Ministry of Health and
Sport. During a meeting with Wang on Monday, Myanmar State Counsellor and
Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi thanked China for the vaccines, and
she hailed China's success in overcoming the impact of the virus and
achieving positive economic growth. President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Myanmar in January last
year and agreed with Myanmar President Win Myint on initiating a
bilateral endeavor to build a China-Myanmar community with a shared
future. During Wang's trip this week, both sides agreed in principle on the
expected text of an action plan for translating the community into
reality, and they will sign the text at an early date, the Foreign
Ministry said. Major outcomes of his trip also included the signing of documents
such as a five-year plan for advancing bilateral economic and trade
cooperation. Both sides also agreed to jointly build the China-Myanmar Economic
Corridor with great quality and speed up the construction of related
projects. The trip, made despite the lingering pandemic, represents China's
support for the successful operation of the new Myanmar administration
as well as its efforts to seek national rejuvenation and long-term
stability, Wang said. Win Myint said Myanmar is dedicated to realizing a consensus between
the leaders of both nations, bolstering friendship and achieving common
development. He expressed appreciation for China's support for Myanmar's national
reconciliation process and China's backing for Myanmar in the
international arena. Myanmar is the first leg of Wang's six-day tour of the region, which
will also take him to Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines. After finishing this New Year tour, Wang will have visited all 10
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since the outbreak
of the pandemic. ASEAN replaced the European Union as China's largest trade partner last year. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the
China-ASEAN dialogue relationship, and Myanmar will also assume the role
of country coordinator of China-ASEAN relations this year. The country will also be co-chair of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation
mechanism as well as the chair of the consultations on the Code of
Conduct in the South China Sea, an expected agreement to help preserve
peace and order in the region. Myanmar is willing to play a proactive role in promoting China-ASEAN relations and Lancang-Mekong cooperation, Win Myint said. China is ready to strengthen teamwork with Myanmar to take
China-ASEAN ties to a higher level and push for the early implementation
of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade pact,
Wang said.
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